The that the legendary investor provided about investing and life over the years helped him attract legions of followers who eagerly read his and filled an Omaha arena each year to hear him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s is Wednesday following six decades of building the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll stay as chairman, but will
Below is a compilation of some of Buffett’s most well-known quotes from across the years:
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“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett described his investment strategy of purchasing undervalued stocks and companies—those trading below his estimate of their true value.
He also advised investors to focus on industries they comprehend, within their “circle of competence,” and shared this timeless rule: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
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“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical guideline Buffett outlined to a Congressional committee in 1991, which he applied while fixing the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has repeated this “newspaper test” numerous times in the years since.
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies perform well during prosperous times and economic growth, but Buffett warned investors that a crisis always exposes whether businesses are making wise choices.
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“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always that people should try to spend time with those they feel are better than themselves, as it will help improve their lives. He noted this is especially true when choosing a spouse—perhaps the most important decision in life.
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“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always been unshakable in his faith in America’s capitalist system. In 2021, he wrote, “There has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe disruptions, our country’s economic advancement has been astounding.”